Urban Analysis & Data Visualization

Summer 2021 Jose Rodriguez Trujillo Mapping + Urban Studies

DESCRIPTION:

Successful urban strategies require a careful understanding of the urban fabric and of the potentialities between the existing fabric and new urban propositions. This requires a clear understanding of the built environment at different scales. To achieve this data must be collected and visualized for the underlying patterns to be visible and to provide support for the development of sustainable solutions within communities. The following are a set of mapping urban studies done during my Intro to GIS class. Different criterion and methodologies were implemented in each study to identify different aspects of the built environment, from understanding route times to existing services within an area.

Post Office Locations in Delaware County, Indiana

The following two writing sample show how one interface within a planning department and focus on the legal aspects of planning. They provide basic legal opinions drafted for the review of public officials to determine how to proceed with specific policy choices.

The first sample was drafted after conducting a legal analysis of the Indiana Impact Fee statute and shows how to communicate with a municipality how best to interpret the statue and provide a comprehensive framework to in devising a new impact fee system for the municipality.

The second sample focuses on how to enact an ordinance to regulate student housing in a college town and provides basic legal analysis for the town council to consider its options before proceeding in consulting with the city attorney and all other stake holders.

Date: 11 25/2022

To: Valparaiso Planning Commission

From: Jose Rodriguez, Associate Planner

Subject: Impact Fee Updated Proposal treatment facility a park or recreational facility a road or bridge a drainage or flood control facility, or a water treatment storage distribution facility. a new fire station. Under this approach we would be able to charge impact fees on the road improvements. n reviewing the matter on how to implement a new successful impact fee system to help pay for some of these expansions the city will need to ensure it follows the Nollan and Dolan tests established by previous supreme court precedents. Additionally, the impact fees can only be used to cover specific things enumerated in Ind. Code Sects. 36-7-4-1301 et seq.

Hello, have received and reviewed the consultant reports regarding the projected growth for Valparaiso. Based on the reports we expect that within the next 10 to 12 years the city will gain 18,000 people spread between 7,500 dwelling units in the northern section of the city. The reports indicate that in order to meet adequate service levels the city will need to build a new fire station and increase the overall park acreage in the city from six to eight acres In addition to needing to build the cities irst public pool.

In order to comply with the Nollan and Dolan tests along with meeting the state code we will need to conduct further studies to establish a clearly defined growth area within the city that we believe will be strained by future developments. Establishing an empirical basis for our impact zone boundaries should partially shield the city from legal challenges. Furthermore, we should establish an impact fee formula that calculates the expected traffic congestion and strain on the sewer and water system caused by proposed developments in the impact zone to get a unit price per acre of the cost to provide city services. The city can then impose that fee cost to each developer within the impact zone.

Regarding our wish to expand our recreational facilities through an added 2 acres of park land and building a public swimming pool, the state statue does permit the use of impact fees to help offset these costs. However great care should be taken so that the public pool is an integral part of the development area. If not, any mpact fees imposed to cover its construction may be challenged since it may not pass a rough proportionality test. Instead, recommend we cover the costs of building the public pool through our general fund or other sources. Regarding the need to increase the park land, we can either require developers to provide dedications of land that can be used towards the 2 acres of park land or require they pay impact fees where it is not possible or practical to have dedications of park land.

The Supreme Court’s Nollan vs. California Coastal Commission case determined that for exactions “impact fees” to be constitutional they must have a “rational relationship” between the exaction and the need for the new public facilities generated by the new development. In Dolan v. City of Tigard, the supreme court determined that exactions must also have a “rough proportionality” between the impacts of the land use proposal and the exaction.

The city should also note that the state statue does not consider fire stations as a capital expense pertaining to infrastructure and thus cannot be covered by impact fees. However it may be possible to come to an agreement with the developer that holds the land on where an ideal fire station can be placed to dedicate the land to us in exchange for waiving all impact fees comparable to the value of the land. We can expect the value of the land to be upwards of $75,000 However if we cannot come to an agreement with the developer, the cost of the fire station will need to be paid for through our general revenue.

Moving forward, recommend we setup a meeting to discuss further studies to determine the impact zone boundary lines and to determine a preliminary impact fee formula. Once we have established these two points, recommend we bring the entire planning department together to draft a preliminary impact fee ordinance for review.

The Indiana code governing impact fees indicates that impact fee can only be imposed on new development when pertaining to he capital costs of infrastructure needed to serve the new development. The code defines infrastructure as being: a sanitary sewer system, wastewater

Additionally, all expenses to build the fire station and obtain equipment must be funded through our general revenue or other means since the state statue does not permit it and previous court decision have been murky as to the legality of impact fees on non-permanent improvements such as equipment. A final potential solution to the fire station could be to improve the city’s street infrastructure to improve the response of our existing two fire stations rather than building

Cordially,

Jose Rodriguez City of Valparaiso Associate Planner

Date: 10/09/2022

To: Valparaiso Planning Commission

From: Jose Rodriguez, Associate Planner

Subject: Preliminary Student Rental Ordinance requiring special use permits be “rentals associated with university functions” By maintaining a broad definition, the city may avoid undue litigation

Per request I have analyzed the city council proposal to enact ordinances restricting student housing/rentals in single-family neighborhoods To regulate the nuisances caused by the university student population in an equitable and effective matter the council may wish to update the city ordinance o prohibit rentals in single family zones adjacent to the university without a special use permit. The city council should consider the following: presumption of validity, comprehensive breadth of the proposal, and relief for current property owners and residents.

The final point to consider is relief for current residents and landowners affected by the ordinance change. By updating the ordinance to require a special use permit the city council can provide a more comprehensive tool to regulate rentals around the university in residential areas. Fully excluding student rentals may not be the desired goal, but through the special use permit the city need not fully exclude all student rentals around the university and instead have a mechanism/criterion to review all applications on a case-by-case basis.

The enactment of the ordinance will be difficult to challenge if the objective behind the ordinance is to “protect the public health, safety, and general welfare” If we maintain the rational of the updated ordinance to be in the service of limiting noise during unreasonable hours driving and parking congestion then the ordinance will be viewed as protecting the safety and the general welfare of the community. As such courts will presume the ordinance to be valid and under the purview of the city council in accordance with various court rulings.

Moving forward request that all changes or questions be sent back to me next Friday so that they can be reviewed by the entire planning staff. look forward to your feedback and questions.

Cordially,

The city can regulate household types so long as it is not arbitrary and is in service of health, safety, and the general welfare. In the case Village of Belle Terre v. Borras the supreme court determined towns governments have the discretion to exclude/limit different housing types based on the definition of a family. However, this may negatively affect non-student renters around the university Additionally, courts have struck down special use permit requirements City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Facility) for being applied in a discriminatory fashion. That is to say, for requiring a special use permit for certain buildings but not for other similar building types. To this end, I recommend the breadth of the updated ordinance indicate the properties

Jose Rodriguez City of Valparaiso Associate Planner